>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." >> this is gmt on "bbc world news." they reopen possibility of genode charges against sudanese president omar al- bashir. his already wanted for crimes against humanity. with a genocide charge make it grow more likely?

three u.s. military personnel are among 10 people killed in an attack in northwest pakistan near a girls' school. another step in iran's space program adding to the worries of the country's nuclear intentions. cooperation from the alleged christmas day bomber -- was the obama administration right? michael jackson's doctor could be charged. it could reveal much more about what we know about the singer's life style. >> hello and welcome. the old judges at the international criminal court have opened up the possibility that the sudanese president omar al-bashir could face genocide charges. the reason is technical, but the result is political. he is the first sitting head of state to be charged on crimes

against humanity and war crimes. a new decision will be welcomed in some quarters and rejected by others. the big question is this. does it make an actual trial more or less likely? >> a fugitive from international justice. the sudanese president may goals freely with his fellow heads of state at the african union summit in ethiopia. despite the icc's arrest warrant, sudanese president omar al-bashir has traveled in africa and elsewhere. many countries have supported the man accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in darfur. they argue that ever, was unfairly targeted. african support continues to this day. the logic has not changed. >> a double standard justice -- one for poor and one for rich.

14 bigger nations and one for small nations. now >> there is more pressure on sudanese president omar al- bashir. the appeals court has decided the icc should reconsider bringing genocide charges, along with existing indictment of war crimes and crimes against humanity. the prosecution believes that the president ordered his forces to commit genocide against the ethnic groups in darfur. they formed the backbone of the rebelli against a government that began in 2003. 13 foreign ngo's -- the president went on to our. now the possibility of a new

genocide charge is likely to infuriate it even further. >> in a few minutes, we'll get reaction from a renowned sudanese author. david? >> thank you. three americans described as military personnel are among at least 10 people killed in an attack on a convoy headed into a girls' school in northwest pakistan. at least 70 people, 63 of them were spero gischool girls, were injured. this comes amid a major government offensive against taliban militants in the area. george will talk to our correspondent in pakistan to get the very latest details on that story. a suicide bombing in the iraqi city of karbala have killed 20 pilgrims.

more than 100 are thought to be woundedn this attack. hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have gathered in karbala for one of the most important shia days. iran says it has successfully tested a rocket. it is described as an experimental capsule. the announcement comes as part of iran's celebration of the anniversary of the islamic revolution. it has raised fears in the international community because the technology used to put satellites into space could be used to launch warheads. we will be speaking to our correspondent in tehran. four men charged with murdering one of croatia's best known journalist, and all four are pleading not guilty. it was thought to be an organized crime attack.

he was known for his investigation into corruption and crime. malaysian opposition leader anwar ibrahim has pleaded not guilty at the beginning of his long-delayed sodomy trial. they claimed traces of anwar ibrahim's dna was found on the man making the claims. homosexual acts are illegal in malaysia. faces 20 years in prison. greece has won the approval of european commission for its plans to reduce its budget deficit. it has also been warned that it must be prepared to take further steps. the european commissioner for european economic affairs describe the degree plan as ambitious and achievable. he said that if there was a slippage in the implementation,

the greek authorities will be asked to adopt additional measures. it has become the focus of intense speculation about government finances. it has led to some concern in the markets. a shortage of snow is causing the organizers of the vancouver winter olympics something of a logistical headache. the games are due to start in nine days. the weather is the warmest recorded january in the city. it has left cyprus mountain with far less known than the competitors need. here is the answer. it is to bring in more white powder by the truckload. it is brought in from manning park. organizers have played down any fears that the slopes will dry up and suggest that bringing in truckloads of snow was just a case of prudence.

back to you. >> thank you. you are watching gmt on "bbc world news." i'm joined in the studio by a writer on the sudanese issues. thank you for joining us. what has there been that you know of -- what have people said as a result of this court decision? >> the people i've spoken to in the last hour think it is rather absurd. >> what kind of people are they, by the way? >> citizens, families, friends, and journalists. especially with the elections coming up, and the candidate list for the presidential elections closing a couple weeks ago. this seems like a distraction. nobody wants to pay attention to this. they're focusing very much on the election. the referendum -- and the referendum. >> is much the way they have

swatted away previous charges from the criminal court. a report from earlier on for my colleague -- pointed out that all over africa, this man has " a lot of support. he travels by freely. what is the plight of these charges? -- is a point of these charges? >> nobody really knows, especially after the reaction in march. citizens have no up to iappetitr it. he has the arab union behind him and the african union behind him. nobody seems to understand what is to be achieved. it's a catch-22 because some people would argue that because there's no way to affect the arrest warrant -- is that an excuse not to charge him, if he is guilty? ? it is an empty exercise at the moment. >> do not go away.

i've just been told that our correspondent, james -- james, thank you for joining us. we're trying to understand what kind of reaction there is on the streets there. >> on the streets, not much. it hasn't really sunk in. some people have been sending the texts to figure out what is going on. the political class has had more of a reaction. people from the president's party are unwilling to talk. they are not willing to be quoted. the reuters news agency spoke to one official who said this was an attempt to take the focus away from the election in april. there have been reactions from rebel groups.

i spoke to one person from a rebel group, and he did not think much would happen because of this decision, or the genocide charge against president bashir. i spoke to some opposition leaders in sudan. again, reaction is mixed. the candidate for another party said that he felt this was a great thing and a positive thing for justice and that there should be a case to be answered, and that the president should go to the hague to answer that. the man who many people think is the biggest threat to the president in the elections, he said he was not necessarily in favor of the icc. he wanted something more like a

hybrid court. >> do not go away. i want to bring and our guest again. it is quite clear. do you think that even though this has not moved on to the trial, the existence --. a that has changed the behavior of other leaders around the world? >> i don't think so. i think it may have encouraged them. it has become quite clear that it is not harming him in any way whatsoever. ironically, i do not think anybody has the icc in mind when they're thinking of committing war crimes. especially with the way the sudanese people have rallied. i do not think the way it has

played out will be a deterrent to any other african heads of states after all. >> we will have to leave it there. thank you to you both for being here on gmt. police in pakistan say 10 people have been killed in an explosion near a girls' school in northwest frontier provie bordering afghanistan. the group was traveling in an army convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the district of lower dir. three military personnel were among the dead. they were among the small contingent of american service members training the paramilitary frontier corps. our correspondent from the region is joining us. have you any more details? >> we just had it confirmed by the american embassy in islamabad that three u.s. military personnel were killed. two were injured.

it also caused extensive damage to a girls' school. 70 people were injured. most of those were female people. the convoy was on its way to a separate girls' school, which had been rebuilt. >> this is a girls' school. i gather it had been one that was recently rebuilt. it just shows how hard reconstruction is. >> absolutely. they were on their way to the reopening of this school. >> thank you very much. >> this is gmt. coming up -- iran takes to the skies again as another rocket is test fired. the authorities say it is to launch a satellite. there are concerns of iran's

intentions. germany's plans to pay for stolen data on tax evaders has sparked a round. the organization representing swiss banks says the determine government may be acting illegally. in the past years, switzerland has faced increasing challenges to its secretive banking practices. >> critics say it is like receiving stolen goods. the german government -- they may have been evading taxes. if the information has been obtained illegally. but stopped short of comparing the move to bank robbery. >> i cannot unimagined there will not be consequences in

this. there will definitely be legal consequences. it will mean the state spent money unnecessarily. >> last year it agreed to relax the rules if the swiss have any doubts about germany's intentions, they need to look at neighboring liechtenstein. two years ago, germanfficials pay for stolen data from the largest bank in the secretive tax haven and recouped two hundred $50 million in tax revenues. the authorities estimate that german citizens have $140 billion in swiss bank accounts. a crackdown on tax evaders could net millions for the german treasury. austria is also hoping to benefit. it wants germany to share any information and finance concerning austrian nationals.

the swiss banking lobby says germany's actions could jeopardize future talks on bank secrecy. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." the international criminal court in the hague has been told to reconsider whether charges of genocide should be brought agast sudanese president omar al-bashir. a bomb blast in northwest pakistan has killed the three american servicemen and at least seven other people outside a rural school near the afghan border. more now on that story. iran says it has successfully test fired a rocket. a lot of people say they're worried about this launch. why shouldn't iran launched a

research rocket? >> that is what they would say. a couple of things. analysts in the west will be looking at things like the trajectory and the capability of this. yes, they put up a satellite last year. are the satellite going to be any use to any thing? is it just a way of having a cover for military reasons. even if it is entirely civilian, they can convert it. the >> are you saying that a country like iran, the distinction between what a civilian and what his military is not what it might be elsewhere? >> that is the big fear from the west, yes. even if this is entirely peaceful at the moment -- this could very easily do two things

predicted be used to convert to military. also, it is meant as a signal that iran is increasing its capability. >> we have to leave it there. thank you. >> the alleged christmas day airline bomber is cooperating with investigators in the united states according to officials. he is said to be providing useful intelligence have been previously exercised his right to remain silent. he is accused of trying to use a bomb hit it in his underwear to bring down a passenger airplane headed from amsterdam to detroit three years our washington correspondent. >> the 23-year-old is said to be providing useful and current intelligence, which the american authorities are following up. he previously exercised his right to silence after he was indicted on charges related to his alleged attempt to blow up a passenger plane.

senior officials say the suspect was persuaded to talk by close family members, who were approached in nigeria and then brought to america by fbi agents. last week he began offering new information, which might lead to a plea bargain. when first arrested, the suspect said he had been trained in yemen, which is why congressional republicans say he is an enemy combatants who should appear before a military tribunal. the obama administration is insisting justice can and should be pursued transparently in the civilian courts. the case remains hugely sensitive following the earlier failure of the u.s. intelligence community to connect pieces of information which might have pointed to a potential attack. president obama has personally assumed responsibility for those failings. steve kingston, bbc news, washington. >> australian police say an indian man made up the story

that he burned himself as he tried to torches' card to make an insurance claim. the incident came at a time of heightened fear after the merger of a punjabi man. the indian government warned its students not to travel to australia. had issued a travel advisory. >> the indian singer performing on australian soil. the musical star in a pop concert intended as a peace overture. relations between australia and india have once against soured with fears of young students who come here to pursue their dreams. >> he arrived in melbourne from whom jpunjab.

late one night, he was attacked by someone, accompanied by racial slurs. >> he abused me. he got out and hit my dog and then hit me again. they pushed me and i fell down on the road. he hit me in my stomach. he abused me again. >> so he was continually racially abusing you? >> three or four times. >> the new year started with the violent murder in mel bourne of the indian students. it prompted a travel advisory from the indian government singling out the city. between 2007 and 2008, the victorian police recorded over

1400 robberies and assaults against indians. the figure for last year's thought to be even higher. police now except that at least some were racially motivated. >> it would be naive for us to say that there's no racist based -- we know that some of them are, unfortunately. we are not a racist community, but unfortunately, like any other country in the world, there are elements in the community that have some form of racist ideology. >> it does like to think of itself as the most multi- cultural city in australia. people from 140 nations sit side-by-side. their image has been tarnished by these attacks. there's strong evidence that indians are staying away. recently, student these applications have plummeted by 46%. that is not just a concern for milburn, but the country as a

whole. after a coal and iron ore, international education is australia's third biggest export. >> student leaders are predicting a 80% falloff in numbers because indians like him will not want to come to a city they now equate with prejudice and violence. >> michael jackson's doctor could soon find himself facing charges of involuntary manslaughter. it is reported that conrad murray will appear at the hearing in california to decide whether there's enough evidence to put him on trial. the singer died seven months ago from an overdose. peter reports now from los angeles. >> it is more than seven months since michael jackson's sudden death at the age of 50. he had been preparing for a series of comeback concert in london.

when he was rehearsing in los angeles, he was under the care of this man, and dr. conrad murray, a physician from texas. he was with michael jackson and the hours before he died. the investigation lasted several weeks. the corridor said that michael jackson's death was a homicide. he died as a result of an overdose of an anesthetic. according to u.s. media reports, the doctor will be charged with involuntary manslaughter. he could appear in court this week. a spokesman for the doctor has a confirmed that he is in los angeles with his lawyer. no timetable has been made public. if the case goes ahead, the doctor is likely to face a public hearing at which a judge uld decide whether there's enough evidence to put them on trial. the doctor has insisted that nothing he gave michael jackson should have killed him. bbc news, los angeles. >> sudanese president omar al-

bashir could still face charges of genocide in a ruling by the international criminal court in the hague. our correspondent said the charges had been rejected by the political class there. an earlier ruling was reversed that said not enough evidence had been provided for genocide charges. that is all for this edition gmt. goodbye. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. >> i'm henry louis gates, jr., and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by